On Mrs Starmer: Who Is Britain's New Queen Victoria?
Victoria Starmer, 51, Britain's new 'First Lady', has found a fresh spotlight today as her husband, Keir Starmer, steps into the country's top job. Unlike her predecessors and global peers, she has, thus far, made a concerted effort to stay behind the scenes scarcely making an appearance during the General Election campaign. Even as the wife of the leader of the opposition for four years, there was never a formal interview, nor is there likely to be anytime soon and she is very much expected to remain in her NHS career even as her address changes to Number 10.
So, who is Lady Victoria Starmer?
Born in the Gospel Oak area of North London, close to where she still lives now, 'Vic' as she's known to friends and family, was raised by a lecturer father and GP mother. Her father's family had moved from Poland to London's East End before the Second World War and she was raised Jewish.
Starmer then moved to Wales to continue her education studying Law at Cardiff University, where she later became Student Union president hinting at an early desire for a political career of her own. She next came back to London to work on former Labour Prime Minister Tony Blair's campaign and soon after qualified as a solicitor at the start of the new millennium.
When working on an aligned legal case Victoria met Keir. A meet-cute worthy of Hollywood, the pair got off to a rocky start as she was unamused by his obsession with accuracy. 'Who the f*** does he think he is?' he heard her muttering one day when they discussed court cases (Starmer was working as a senior barrister) before she hung up the line, reports The Evening Standard.
'You might think "not the best of starts," but it was absolutely classic Vic. Very sassy, very down-to-earth, no-nonsense from anyone, including from me,' the now Prime Minister once said.
They soon crossed paths IRL and things got off to a better start, leading to a May 2007 wedding on the Fennes Estate in Essex, with two children — now 16 and 13 — arriving soon after. Sir Starmer has recently said that their 'love gets stronger every day' and 'we're made for each other.'
Another comment by the Prime Minister hints more closely at what's next for the couple. Having since traded law for an occupational health role within the NHS, Mrs Starmer is said to have no plans to give up her own life for that of simply being the unofficial official 'First Lady'. In Britain, there are no formal duties for the wife of the leader. 'She loves working for the NHS. 'She loves the team that she's working with,' the now Prime Minister has said of his wife in the past.
As it stands, what is best known about Lady Starmer is her desire to remain a privacy others have gladly given up in support of the political campaign. A case in point the little known about the Starmer children as not even their names are discussed in public.
Whether or not she chooses to lean into her role in a more visible capacity, Starmer now has the opportunity to promote British fashion on the global stage. From here on in, what she chooses to wear will become of note, following the fashion-first precedent established by Michelle Obama in the States and Bridget Macron in France. Yet, from what we have seen of her thus far, it has been her predecessor Samantha Cameron, the wife of former Conservative British Prime Minister David Cameron, that her choices most closely align with. It is Cameron's approach that has also been thought to have influenced the way the Princess of Wales dresses for public duty.
Day dresses are a favourite for Victoria, from familiar premium labels like Me & Em (her choice for her Downing Street arrival was its £275 poppy red contrast stitch dress), The Kooples and Simkhai, worn with smart sneakers or pointed kitten heels. Whereas Cameron favoured print, Starmer leans to colour blocking in a primary palette that centres, unsurprisingly, around red, while off-duty moments have included her being photographed in black leather trousers and skinny jeans.
Yet while her day-to-day wardrobe has remained simple, fuss-free, akin to that to any working mother you might find in several of London's choicest postcodes, there have been flashes of sparkle, hinting at an underlying of magpie-like tendencies.
Attending a state banquet at Buckingham Palace, still in the role of the wife of the leader of the opposition, she dazzled in Needle & Thread's caped Heart Lettice Gown. A slight suggestion at wardrobe defiance came in the hemline, where the white-tie dress code might usually call for floor-length, Starmer's instead floated higher to reveal her pointed gold glitter heels.
Of course, it's not only her fashion decisions that'll be pulled into focus as she next has the task of making what's perhaps become Britain's most redressed home (10 Downing Street has been home to six families in 14 years) her own.
Sure, it'll be nice to know if she chooses something flashy or modest, contemporary or classic, but what better role model could Britain's young women have than that of a quietly confident working mother, supportive of her husband's quick ascent to the upmost of Westminster echelons without surrendering her own career or desire for a private life.
Mrs Starmer might still be something of an enigma to the electorate but it is only day one after all.
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